As tickets to the European leg of the tour were snapped up with frenzied excitement, Australia will be given a rare opportunity to experience an album recently described by Complex Magazine as “a long-overdue reminder of how urgent and exciting rock could be” and by the NME as “one of the best albums of all time”.

Back in 2004, Bloc Party were four Londoners emerging into a post-Strokes world buzzing with a newly discovered love of angular guitars. Lead by the compelling, impassioned yelp of Kele Okereke and his stunning descriptions of love, helplessness and life in the early aughts, they drove centimetre perfect incisions into the bedrock of indie song-craft.

Fans and critics began to hop on board as Silent Alarm’s first single, a double A-side featuring ‘So Here We Are’ and ‘Positive Tension’ (with it’s clarion call of “so fucking useless”), made a huge impact in their native UK, paving the way for a release in February 2005.

The record was an immediate hit as it burned up the English and American album charts, inspiring breathless reviews wherever it was heard.

Singles ‘Banquet’, ‘Helicopter’ and the aforementioned ‘Positive Tension’ put Bloc Party’s technicolour ambitions on dazzling display as they joined bands like Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand in ushering in a new generation of English guitar bands to the world.

Ageing as well as anything released in the past 20 years (if not better), the jagged rhythms and disparate electronic elements of Silent Alarm sound as crucial today as they did 13 years ago. Sound-tracking everything from all night raves to desolate breakups, the record has earned a special place in the hearts of its fans.

More than your ordinary garage band, Bloc Party have left a legacy of scope, vision and incendiary pop songs for their fans to pour over in the 13 years since Silent Alarm was released.

The chance for Australian audiences to revisit these classics with the band as they perform the album in full will be too good to pass up.

Bloc Part 2018 Australian Tour
November 24 – RED HILL AMPHITHEATRE, PERTH
November 27 – MARGARET COURT ARENA, MELBOURNE
November 30 – HORDERN PAVILION, SYDNEY
December 01 – RIVERSTAGE, BRISBANE
www.blocparty.com

Produced in response to the birth of his first daughter Savannah and reflecting several significant life changes, Fatherland (Okereke’s third solo work after 2010’s The Boxer and 2014’s Trick) has been met with luminous critical acclaim and will set a reverent tone for these unique performances in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Legendary for dissecting the tumult of modern life through his much-loved back catalogue, the Bloc Party frontman has taken a step back from the bright lights and moved into some more hushed and delicate atmospheres this time around.

A work of rare beauty and contrast, Fatherland sees Okereke guiding us through explorations of new responsibilities, established relationships and cultural identity by employing delicate folk, sumptuous soul and even a touch of cabaret for good measure. Cuts like Streets Been Talkin’ and Yemaya recall the work of Joni Mitchell or Elliot Smith in their splendid instrumentation.

While instrumentally a world away from the visceral output of the newly reinvented Bloc Party (their most recent record Hymns was a hit in 2016), the conviction in Okereke’s inimitable voice is strong throughout, and remains the reliable focal point that has held audiences in rapture for more than a decade. It seems like there has always been a sense of vulnerability inherent in his work, but this has never been fully realised until now.

Fatherland is a record that begs to be explored in the kind of intimacy that only the stages chosen for these unique dates can provide.

Kele Okereke Australian Tour
29 MARCH – OLD MUSEUM, BRISBANE
30 MARCH – THE BASEMENT, SYDNEY
31 MARCH – SPOTTED MALLARD, MELBOURNE
www.facebook.com/kele